Show Notes
We’re on a health and wellbeing vibe this week talking about being off the booze and our love of Pavari cocktails, plus our secret addiction to the new season of Rivals. We’re also having a very down to earth honest chat with our guest - actor, podcaster, public speaker and coach, Salima Saxton. Salima’s candid talk for The Moth has had millions of views on YouTube and is the story on which her forthcoming memoir ‘The Undoing’ is based. She talks about what happened when her husband, Carl, someone she’d always thought of as her ‘oak tree’ as he was so stable, called time on how they were living. She recalls the surprise of his frank admission about how he wasn’t coping, and her realisation that his mental health was in jeopardy. She sprang into action, dismantling their so-called ‘perfect’ London life, moving their three children out of their private school and back to her childhood home in the countryside. In doing so, she had to confront the ghosts of her past, but says that the upside is that in jettisoning all the ‘stuff’ she considered to be important, she’s reclaimed her younger self and what really matters in life. Despite having alway marketed herself as great in a crisis, Salima was surprised by the way in which she reacted to her unexpected diagnosis of colon cancer last year and the news of the difficult treatment she had to undergo. When one of her friends described her as a ‘bad patient’, her incredibly popular Substack newsletter was born. Salima says that she doesn’t have a filter at the best of times, but she found comfort in sharing everything she experienced - from the silly questions she asked her surgeon, to her deepest inner fears. Unsurprisingly, her fans have deeply connected with her honesty, her humour and her compulsion to help other people. Salima, who has been in shows such as This is England, Trigger Point and Twenty Twelve says she’s ready to move back into acting. She says her mantra for getting through life is to keep curious and to keep moving forward.The special ‘bits’ she brought to show us included a framed picture of her husband and son in a chippie. It was taken just at the end of her treatment when she’d lost her appetite, but suddenly had an overwhelming urge for big fat salty greasy chips. Her family drove to a chip shop in town and this moment reminded her that life would once again be ‘normal’. When she looks at it she says she feels emotional because she’s so proud of how her family pulled together and got through such a tough time. With her three teenage children growing up fast, she brings a child’s jacket that has gone through her two girls and her son and reminds her of her beautiful moments of their childhood in London. We talk about the nostalgia of motherhood and how we navigate the emotions of our children changing and moving away from us. She also brings a painting of honeysuckle that grew in the thatched cottage in which she grew up. It was painted by her late father, from whom she was estranged. It reminds her of the good parts of her dad and how she’s come to the realisation that he tried his best. If you haven’t discovered Salima’s honest, funny, engaging Substack, find her https://substack.com/@salimasaxton and also on Instagram @salimasexton
Watch her emotional talk for The Moth here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA0BBHoMLuM To view our guests' special bits, please follow us on Instagram @showusyourbitspodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Show Us Your Bits
Publisher, successful author and a Swiftie, Harriet Evans joins us from Bath to tell us about the origins of her literary life and how being a catastrophist has helped her tell the stories that have earned her awards and legions of loyal readers. Regaling us with stories from the heyday of publishing in the 90’s, Harriet talks candidly about her love of books, her total lack of snobbery when it comes to a good story and how it feels to have insights as both a publisher and a writer.
Meet Lee Cooper who says it’s great to be a slashie and describes himself as a- fashion art director - slash- filmmaker - slash screenwriter slash author. Lee says he’s always been a story teller, and as a fashion marketeer has opened stores for many famous brands including Jigsaw and The White Stuff. After a film making course, Lee has pivoted into film making. His documentary ‘Maisie’ follows the oldest performing drag queen in the UK. Drawn to his long, colourful life, Lee says Maisie was still performing into his 80’s and Lee had unprecedented behind the scenes access and make a beautiful, powerfully honest film about a man dealing with cognitive decline and ageing. HIs latest project is ‘Backstairs Billy’ - another project Lee describes about being as another saucy old queen. It tells the story of the late Queen Mother’s most trusted servant. Lee regales us with some great stories about what actually went on in Clarence House.Lee says he’s a collector of stuff - or a ‘curated hoarder’ - but brought some fascinating pieces to show us including pictures of Bonnie and Bo his beloved Lhasa Apso dogs. The second caught Alice’s attention - a rubber replica of Salacious Crumb, the space monkey from the Star Wars films. Since seeing the first Star Wars film as a child, Lee says he’s been a secret Star Wars nerd. His loft is crammed with figurines that he hopes to use in a future film project. Lee says his great love is the ceremony of breakfast, done properly hotel-style, with a tea pot, china and toast rack - only eaten at midday. He brought his treasured old butter knife picked up in a vintage store and a little pot of jam.He says living in a post truth world, story if more important than ever. It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday, so his mantra is to not sweat the small stuff. Find Lee on Instagram @leecoopercreative. To view our guests' special bits, please follow us on Instagram @showusyourbitspodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Career guru, Sunday Times bestselling author and podcast host Helen Topper says that she was always so independent that she didn’t even tell her Mum she was leaving for Uni until the morning she went.
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It's Season 11 and Alice and Josie are embracing that fresh start September back-to-school feeling they both love. They have a lovely catch up after their summer breaks. Josie describes her chilled-out summer in the heat of the Spanish countryside, whilst Alice has been flat on her back after a bad back injury on holiday. She's feeling grateful to be back on her feet after a stint in a wheelchair - although being parked in a garden centre was not her favourite moment of the summer. Apart from the pain, Alice says it was good to slow down and to take stock, although her Vinted habit got a bit out of hand! Josie says that for the first time she's learnt the power of being still and 'being' rather than 'doing'. However, they're both raring to go and happy to be back in the studio. They have a season full of exciting guests and new surprises, so tune in every Friday wherever you get your podcasts and follow us @showusyourbitspodcast on Instagram. There's also extra show notes and pictures on our Show Us Your Bits Substack. To view our guests' special bits, please follow us on Instagram @showusyourbitspodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.